Wood et al. (1) found that cognitive indicators, such as National Board of Medical Examiners (NBME) scores, correlated well with subsequent cognitive measures of performance but correlated negatively with manual dexterity, interpersonal skills, and confidence. George et al. (2) considered class rank, grades in four major clinical clerkships, NBME part 1 scores, Alpha Omega Alpha (AOA) membership, and numerical ranking by the selection committee and found that only the last criterion correlated with subsequent house staff performance. Crane and Ferraro (3) determined that emergency medicine rotation grade, interview, clinical grades, and recommendations were better indicators of future performance than United States Medical Licensing Examination (USMLE) results. Despite the poor correlation between cognitive indicators and subsequent performance, Clark et al. (4) found that an NBME part 1 score of over 500, class rank in the top 40%, and membership in AOA honor society correlated with an increased rate of acceptance in orthopedic residency programs. Warrick and Crumrine (5) determined that although no significant correlations were found among resident in training examination (ITE) scores and undergraduate grade point averages (GPA), resident ages, or parents level of education, interview scores, and composite residency GPA had a strong positive relationship. Bell et al. (6) concluded that although USMLE scores correlated positively with ITE scores, they did not correlate with subsequent faculty evaluations of resident performance.
